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13 Apr 2011 22:01

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U.S.: Virginia teacher simulates slave-trade in unfortunate classroom exercise

  • The lesson could have been thought through more carefully.
  • Mary B. Wrushen, principal of Sewells Point Elementary School • Regarding a well-intentioned but nonetheless awful idea on the part of Jessica Boyle, a fourth grade teacher at the school. In a lesson meant to illustrate the tragedy of slavery, Boyle separated her students by race–white students on one side, everyone else on the other–and had the white students “bid” on the black kids, as if they were purchasing slaves. A letter was shortly sent to parents, apologizing for such stupidity. Here’s to hoping Haley Barbour weighs in on this. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jan 2011 13:00

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U.S.: George Allen back in the Virginia electoral saddle

  • then George Allen, Virginia’s Republican Senator in 2006, was thought to have ended his career after publicly calling a Jim Webb aide of Indian descent “macaca,” a racial slur.
  • now Five years after his “macaca” foul-up, Allen has announced he’ll be jumping into the Virginia Senate race in 2012, hoping that gaffe won’t hurt anymore. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Dec 2010 00:50

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U.S.: Virginia has laughably awful history textbooks, just an FYI

  • mistake A Virginia-oriented history book called “Our Virginia: Past and Present” suggested that African-Americans fought for the South in the Civil War, causing a huge uproar over the claim, which has long been refuted.
  • f*#&-up A study of the history book by professional historians found that there were many obvious facts that were simply wrong in the book and others with the same publisher. The book, by the way, was not written by a historian. Oops. source
  • » A couple random examples: Peer reviewers found that “Our Virginia” and other books from the same textbook publisher said that the U.S. entered World War I a year earlier than it actually did, that Civil War soldiers commonly wore full suits of armor, and that New Orleans began on a U.S. harbor (instead of a Spanish one). It’s a book so good, it makes you feel dumber when reading it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Aug 2010 10:22

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U.S.: Did they catch him? Serial stabber suspect arrested at airport

  • It makes me feel a lot better, and a lot safer for everyone. Hopefully, it’s him.
  • Barbara Motley-Embry • Regading the reported arrest of a man tied to a series of stabbings mostly in Flint, Michigan. Motley-Embry’s son David Motley was the first victim of the purported serial killer, who also has ties to attacks in Leesburg, Va. and Toledo, Ohio. All but two of the victims in the attacks were black, leading many to believe that there is a strong racial motivation to the case. Here’s hoping they got their man – this guy was reportedly about to board a flight to Israel. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2010 09:39

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U.S.: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell: An “obligation” to report domestic violence

  • Particularly in domestic-related situations, can other people intervene because they see things going on… and maybe this could have been prevented.
  • Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell • Regarding the death of U.Va. women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Love, who men’s lacrosse player George Huguely is accused of murdering. The governor suggests that there’s an “obligation to all of us in our society [that] if we see things that look wrong or strange behavior or violent behavior, to really be more involved” in domestic violence cases. There were certain tell-taie signs that Huguely had a violent streak, including prior arrests. In other news, Huguely’s mother Marta Murphy spoke out, noting that Love was something of a member of her family due to Huguely’s long relationship with her. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2010 23:25

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Politics: Two ways Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli is kind of a douche to U.Va

  • first He revoked legal protections from
    gay workers at the university,
    causing a massive outrage
    throughout the state that Gov. Bob
    McDonnell had to clean up.
  • second He’s now trying to subpoena the
    university for the records of a
    former pro-climate-change
    professor, Michael Mann, causing
    more angry outrage. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2010 20:41

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Politics: Bob McDonnell is sorry if you’re offended he forgot about slavery

  • bad Breaking nearly a
    decade of tradition,
    Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell restarted the controversial practice of making April Confederate History Month.
  • worse In his proclamation, he forgot to mention that the Civil War had a lot to do with slavery and stuff (not just states’ rights), which is why it’s controversial in the first place.
  • oops Today, McDonnell
    apologized (kinda): “I apologize to any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed.” What about non-Virginians? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

11 Mar 2010 09:43

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U.S.: Bob McDonnell smartly pulls back his hand on gay rights

  • stupid Virginia’s attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli II, orders state universities to remove language from their anti-discrimination codes protecting gays and lesbians, saying only the state legislature can do that. People are PISSED.
  • better Hoping to quell the landmine Cuccinelli just stepped in, Gov. Bob McDonnell issues a directive saying that discrimination against gay and lesbian state employees is prohibited, and he’ll fire anyone he catches. It’s a good start.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2010 01:13

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U.S.: Pentagon shooting: The dude pulled out a gun at random

  • One second, John Patrick Bedell looked innocent. The next, he was firing. The Pentagon Metro station, which is designed to be incredibly secure, was the scene of a shooting which was not the result of terrorism. How’d it happen? Well, Bedell calmly grabbed into his pocket as if he was grabbing a pass. Then he pulled out a gun, and grazed the two officers. The entrance to the station was closed for two hours as a result of the shooting, but officials are glad that the incident was otherwise handled well. source
  • UPDATE (1:13 a.m.): Bedell has died from his injuries.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Mar 2010 19:54

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U.S.: The Pentagon shooting has the D.C. metro area in a tizzy

  • two Pentagon police officers were shot and wounded in the attack
  • one suspect is in police custody; nobody can leave the Pentagon source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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